Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A plea for bi-partisanship

Independents—those not deeply connected to a political party—voted for George Bush in 2004; they voted for Barak Obama in 2008; they gave the U.S. House back to the Republicans and almost the Senate yesterday. Our national government changes often because the tastes of Independents in the United States changes often.

Every politician is capable of deception. However I don’t believe George Bush governed that differently than the campaign on which he ran. The same holds true for Barak Obama. In America we receive the government and politicians for whom we vote. Our political leaders are a reflection of us.

I implore our politicians to go out of their way to find common ground on issues. We need bi-partisanship more than ever. My hope is that the next two years both sides of the political aisle can work together.

Two weeks ago I gave a sermon on the relationship of the church to politics. The link for the sermon is here: http://www.blip.tv/file/4261202/ I used a line that Brian Rusche said in a video interview we did of him, “The church is called to be political, not partisan.” He made the statement that visiting an elderly person in his or her home is a political act.

I’m waiting for political leaders who take risks for bi-partisanship. I’m not looking for anyone to take America back, or anyone to demonize the other side, or try to cram an agenda down anyone’s throats. Amy politician who hasn’t learned that Americans aren’t impressed with hubris will probably making a concession speech in a future election.

A first step towards this is for the public to reach out to others in a bi-partisan way. If our political leaders are a reflection of us, then we must look in the mirror. Our political leaders won’t find common ground unless the people do.